OK! So I tried not to take as long this time, and was able to cut a whole week so I am pleased with that. Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter, it has some drama, some awkward bromance, and some "Well dang..."
-A-
"I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value."
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
"Shiro, you can't be sure that he will do it"
"His deal has a deadline, he has 2 more weeks to make it happen"
"And if he doesn't?" He smiled at Remy and waved his hand in disregard "Then we will have to force them out by trying to kill him… darkness can only bring him back so many times"
Gajeel covered his face with a pillow to avoid the light that filtered through the now open black thick curtains of his room; he moved his hand to pull Levy closer but found her spot empty; he growled and complained but got up from bed and walked down the stairs still sleepy and groggy, rubbing his eyes with his hand.
"OI! Could you not leave the curtains open shrimp?" she took a bite from the toast she held in her hand "How else would I make sure you get out of bed… you are like a bear during winter"
"Well at least let me know you are up…" Gajeel stood next to Levy's chair and snickered "You are so small I though I had crushed you in my sleep shrimp" Levy smacked his bare stomach and scrunched her nose "Stupid Gajeel…" He smiled, pleased with his morning banter and leaned to take a bite from Levy's toast before smiling "Coffee?" Levy pulled him down and gave him a peck on the lips "Kitchen".
He observed her for a bit, her blue curls were a mess that was only contained by an orange headband, she had her legs up on the chair and was wearing one of his T-shirts which made her look even smaller than what she already was "You know, if you are not careful you are going to end up swimming out of that shirt, little shrimp"
Levy didn't turn to face him, she simply took another bite of her toast, and fixed her glasses "Wouldn't you love for that to happen" Gajeel burst into laughter, that was his shrimp all right… small body, big attitude and an even bigger brain.
"Are you two done?" Lily was staring at them "Some of us don't enjoy these displays so early in the morning" Gajeel snorted and kept going to the kitchen "No one is forcing you to watch Lily… why you both up so early?"
"I am always up this early Gajeel, I'm sure you don't believe coffee magically makes itself in the morning"
"Geez you woke up grumpy, here have more magically made coffee" Lily grunted and extended his cup for a refill while Levy giggled and shook her head "I'm checking out the book, and I have training later, so, I decided to get an early start"
"Found anything interesting yet?" she placed her pencil on her bottom lip and hummed "Well, not so much yet, but it really doesn't seem like a book to me, more like a journal"
"Why do you think it's a journal?" Levy shrug "It seems to be that, it has too much personal information, but I haven't been able to translate much, only a few pages"
"Hmm, that's… strange. Anyways… go get ready and I'll walk you to the guild" he kissed the top of her head and took her seat once she was gone. He swiped through some of the pages, made sure he placed a separator where Levy had left off and closed the book. Gajeel took the book and placed it inside Levy's backpack before finishing breakfast and getting ready.
It didn't take long for them to make their way to the guild; they were half way there when they noticed Lucy and Natsu kissing on the side of the road, they were laughing about something and Levy couldn't help but smile too.
"They seem to be doing well"
"Too well if you ask me… it's disgusting" Levy giggled and smacked his arm "I'm sure he would say the same thing about you Black Steel Gajeel" he looked at her and scrunched his nose.
Just when she was about to yell their names, Natsu looked up with a serious face and grabbed Lucy tightly, he seemed to be too alert; they both noticed but said nothing as they got closer to them; Gajeel could see the confused look on his friend's face and squeezed Levy's hand a bit.
"Why don't you walk with Lucy from here, uhm shrimp?" Levy nodded and smiled at him while she rubbed his hand with her thumb.
"Hey Lu! Are you heading to the guild?" Levy smiled despite the weird look on Natsu's face, Lucy noticed too and simply hugged him and placed another kiss on his forehead "You ok?" he took a deep breath and scrounged his nose "Yeah, yeah… I'm sorry" he kept looking at the pair weirdly but eventually he let go of Lucy's hand, so they could walk together.
Natsu and Gajeel stood there watching them leave for a couple of minutes. "What's up with you today Salamander?"
"That has become an everyday question hasn't it?" he smiled although it didn't reach his eyes and sighed "I'm honestly not sure"
"You look like you could use a drink" Natsu stared at him for a couple of seconds "What are you doing?" Gajeel gave him a confused look but said nothing which caused Natsu to continue "It is weird when you are this friendly, you are starting to freak me out man"
"Look, you can go drown in the fucking lake for all I care! It's not like we are friends… tsk… fucking punk"
"You don't owe me Gajeel" he bit the inside of his cheek "I know you feel like you do… but you really don't" Gajeel nodded "Did you tell everyone I helped you take care of that crazy son of a bitch?"
"No, but…" Gajeel took a step forward and shoved Natsu "Did you tell them the only reason I was there was to make sure you killed him?"
"No, of course not…" he shoved him harder this time "Did you… tell them… that I didn't tell you what was happening back home until after the asshole was dead?" Natsu rubbed the back of his neck "As if bringing Levy back wasn't enough, you also lied to everyone when you could have just said the truth … Why didn't you?"
"Because…" Natsu looked up and took a deep breath and Gajeel knew the answer "Because you KNOW at least a few people wouldn't have been surprised of me pulling some shit like that… you may think I don't owe you, but I'm still going to pay you back prick"
"That's the problem! I don't need any more looks of pity than what I already get metal breath!" Gajeel burst into laughter and Natsu's frown deepened while he fisted his hand "I never thought I would get to live to see Salamander over-analyzing something… for fuck's sake man! I offered you a drink because Levy and Lily will be gone for the day, I though maybe I would get to beat the shit out of you a couple of times at least; you deserve none of my pity over-sized lizard"
Natsu remained silent for a couple of minutes and his frown relaxed, he should have known better with Gajeel, he laughed a bit before responding "That would sound great if it wasn't like… 9 am in the morning, and if I didn't need to tear a few walls down and put them back up before Luce gets home and kills me"
"My schedule is free, and breaking a few walls sounds entertaining enough" he smiled daringly "I'm sure I can do it faster than you anyways, you are rusty and an idiot"
"You are on Metal breath! I'll wipe the floor with you!"
As soon as they put some distance between them and the Dragon Slayers, Levy linked her arm with Lucy's "So, things seem to be going well with you two" Lucy smiled and tilted her head "They are, it… depends on the day really, he is going through a lot"
"About that… what's up with him today?" Lucy shook her head and sighed "I don't know Lev… he was fine and then for some reason he wasn't, I worry about him… that happens a lot lately"
"I know you do… BUT!" Levy squeezed her arm before nudging her on the side "Everything will be fine Lu! This is Natsu we are talking about, when have you ever seen him lose?"
Lucy smiled at her friend, of course, anything Natsu related had to end up in victory, it still worried her; although she had heard him in her head less since he had started voicing his thoughts more, that didn't mean that connection had completely stopped. She had sensed his distress when Levy and Gajeel had gotten closer, and she could almost feel the dragon inside him pushing to take over "Yeah… I guess you are right"
"Well, I'll see you later ok? My turn to train" Levy frowned while saying that. She knew she could fight but the idea of training with her assigned group was both equally exciting and concerning.
Levy walked to the training field where Mira was already expecting the group, she wouldn't be training with them but oversaw the exercise. She looked around and noticed the rest of her team was there, Jet along with the Freed and Evergreen.
"Ok! So how about we start since everyone is here… as you probably figured out, this is a containment unit, we know you can all fight which will come handy, but your job will be to try to hold Natsu down as much as possible"
"What happens if we can't?" Mira sighed "If you can't then the last units will take over… and we are hoping it doesn't get to that, we don't want to hurt him" there was an awkward moment of understanding, and an incredible amount of pressure could be felt in the air; if they failed that would mean one of their closest friends would be given the order to stop an equally close friend by all means necessary, even if it meant killing him.
"Are we thinking runes?" Freed held his stoic face as usual while turning to Mira "Yes, but keep in mind he broke the runes back in the council and we are not sure how that happen"
"Those runes weren't weak, but they were not match for mine… also with Levy's help I think we can figure how to make them even stronger"
"You don't look worried" Mira smiled and tilted her head "I am not… I've held both Natsu and Gajeel before" the eldest Strauss sibling stared at him and her eyes changed, she looked more like her old self than the sweet woman everyone had gotten used to "Freed… out of everyone here I thought you would be wisest…"
"What do you mean?" he didn't change his expression, he had always been proud of the balanced behavior he could display despite the situation; Mira took a few steps toward him and stopped a few inches from his face "Don't let your ego blind you, he is not the kid you locked inside the guild by mistake years ago and today he would break through those dribbles like if they were nothing… you are not trying to hold a young Dragon slayer… you are trying to hold E.N.D himself"
They rest of the group remained quiet while they witnessed the exchange before them "You and Levy can prepare when we finish combat training, everyone will need to have a plan for tomorrow"
"What's tomorrow?" Levy gulped and watched as Mira changed her expression back to her sweet self "Tomorrow we will test your containment at a smaller scale, but it needs to be something you can spread out around the guild, so, be ready for that"
The training was a train wreck, Levy could work with Freed on runes, but when it came to combat, they didn't connect well enough, she could work with Droy, but he got too focused on protecting her to be efficient during battle, and Freed had a good team work with Evergreen but no one else.
After a couple of hours, they all ended up sitting on the floor trying to catch their breaths "Well I hope this teaches you a lesson in humility…" Mira's comment caused different reactions, Levy felt ashamed of herself however it seemed not everyone shared the feeling.
"Oh, come on! We are doing our best, you can't really expect us to give better results while we cover the gaps left by those two over there!" Evergreen was pointing her perfectly manicured finger towards Levy and Droy "That is not polite to say" Freed did a mild attempt of scolding but didn't deny her comment.
Before Mira could get involved Levy stood up and walked towards both members of the Raijinshuu "I actually though you two had changed, how stupid can I be"
"Excuse me!" Evergreen was about to reply when Levy continued her speech "You call yourself a leader and a gentleman and yet you can't even adapt to working with someone else other than your own little club, how sad to have a leader who's incapable of leading" she turned and face Evergreen and clenched her fists "YOU! You won't ever be better than anyone in the guild because your ego keeps you from opening your eyes! GEEZ!"
Droy stood up and patted his clothes to remove the dirt before approaching her "Hey Lev…"
"Mira are we done?" Her anger didn't go away, she kept looking at them with fire in her eyes "For today… yeah we are"
Levy turned around and walked away, Droy following close behind but at enough distance to provide her some space, eventually she stopped in front of the guild and rested her back on the wall waiting for her friend to catch up.
"Levy, don't you think you were a bit harsh?" she was looking at him with a baffled expression and a twitch on her eye "What?! How am I the bad one here?"
Droy shook his head "You are not, but…" he took a deep breath "Saying they hadn't changed a lot after… you know the Laxus' incident was kind of harsh don't you think? They have changed… a lot" she puffed her cheeks and looked the other way "I know they have… but it just made me so angry!"
"Yeah, but you know how ashamed they are of that whole thing, you know they tried to make amends"
"Yeah… dammit! I'll apologize…" Droy simply smiled at Levy and followed her inside the guild. She started looking for her blonde friend when she spotted Erza "Hey! Have you seen Lucy?"
"She left not log ago, I'm sure she is on her way home"
"Dammit, I was hoping to catch her… how about Gajeel?"
Erza scratched her chin "Actually he never showed up"
Lucy have had a long day since Natsu couldn't be close to the guild until the trainings were done, this was a measurement taken due to his sensitive nose, Makarov didn't want to risk him getting an idea on who was working together; which caused for Lucy to be the one in charge of running errands today.
She had gone to the market for food, did a little shopping for house stuff and herself and went to the guild to check on any news and updates their friends may have had, so, she was beyond tired. She was carrying most of the bags while Happy took a couple smaller bags and flew next to her.
"Hey Lushi… you don't really think we are going to have to fight Natsu, do you?" she was surprised by the question but tried not to show it "I don't think Natsu would ever be able to hurt us Happy, if something happens, we just need to remind him who he is!"
Happy smiled widely and released a breath he didn't know he was holding "Aye!" there was silence for a couple of minutes as they kept walking through the steep road "Hey Lushi, when you and Natsu get married can I hold the rings?"
She went completely pale, and then a second later her face looked like a fresh tomato "Wh-W-Why d-do you t-think we are getting m-married? Did he say something to you?"
"Not really" Happy titled his head and looked up as if thinking "But you are already living with us, and he is fixing the house for you, even adding more rooms than what we need, I though maybe you two would get married and have a baby Natsu and a Baby Lucy" Happy stopped out of nowhere and widen his eyes "Lushi! When you have baby can I play with it?! I promise I'll be the best babysitter and I'll be the best big brother and I'll save the best fish for the baby!"
Lucy's head was still spinning and so she just managed to mumble a bit "S-s-sure". They finally got home and when she opened the door, she could see muddy footprints on the ground from the entrance to the living room "Oh by MAVIS!" she walked inside and left the bags in the kitchen before trying to assess the damage.
They were two different pairs of footprints, she knew which ones were Natsu's and the other seemed to be from big and heavy boots; she walked to the coffee table and found two glasses, and an empty bottle of whiskey "So much for a productive afternoon Natsu…" she took the things from the table and left them on the sink. When she went back to start cleaning up, she noticed the footprints didn't only reach their living room but went into the aisle and she decided to follow them.
The trail stopped in front of the bathroom and when she remembered Natsu had said a few walls would go down today she feared what she would find "Well… let's see what's behind door number one…" she bit her lip and pushed the door open.
She stood there, completely frozen when Happy landed on her head "Whoaaaa Lushi what happened here" she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times "I think Natsu redid the bathroom". There was a note on the mirror with messy handwriting "Don't use until tomorrow, still fresh. Be back soon"
It was noticeable that the wall had been taken down and pushed back, by a lot; the complete room was made up from dark gray stone except for the floor which was a much lighter tone, there was a wide mirror cabinet above the sink and another cabinet under with plenty of space. She brushed her fingers against the stone and continued moving until reaching her new bathtub; it was big, big enough to fit 3 people and it was made in the same material than the rest of the room. The other big difference was the big window on the side of the tub, it led to a wooded area in the back and had a small lever that allowed you to open the small window segments.
"Wow…" She had no words she simply stared, feeling bad for thinking Natsu had done nothing for the day. Happy snickered "And he managed to do all of this without tearing down the house!" the cat put his paw on Lucy's chin "You should close your mouth Lushy!"
She slapped his paw away and smiled "He did an incredible job…" Lucy was taken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door "Coming!"
Natsu and Gajeel had gone further into the forest to get some training done, of course the black-haired slayer knew better than to use any magic against Natsu, but that didn't mean they couldn't practice a bit.
"You seem less rusty than a few days ago, are you getting used to this no magic thing already?"
"Seems that way, it still sucks, but at least I don't feel like I'm riding a train 24/7" the though made Gajeel feel dizzy "That sounds horrible"
"Anyways, ready for another round or are you too old now to keep going?" Natsu smirked at got himself in position "Old? I'm like 2 years older than you punk!" they resumed their fighting and got lost in the moment as they usually did, their competitiveness had no limits.
Natsu got a few good punches through Gajeel's defense and was feeling proud of himself "I don't need my fire to kick your ass Lighting rod!"
"Who said I needed mine? I'll wipe that smug look off your face!" Gajeel was surprised that Natsu was keeping up despite of his current state but he kept going. He knew the Dire dragon slayer didn't want pity from him, what he needed was someone to keep him on his toes; however, after some time Natsu got distracted and when he turned back, he was hit straight on the jaw, he tumbled back but got up quickly still staring at the direction of his house.
"OI! Don't get distractet moron!" Gajeel started walking towards him and noticed Natsu's left hand had started twitching lightly "Salamander?" he took a couple more steps and stopped when he saw the twitching change to shaking, and before he could continue walking towards him, the fire dragon slayer sprinted back towards the house so quickly that it took Gajeel a full second to react.
"Where the hell are you going! OI! STOP!"
He tried to follow close but for someone not using magic he was moving extremely fast, like an animal in the middle of a hunt and he could only remember how surprised he was by Natsu's speed when they were in the caves with Fukuro.
It scared him, not because he feared the man running before him but because he had seen Natsu in that state and knew exactly how close he had come to losing his mind; the possibility of that happening again stirred something inside of him.
It didn't take long for Gajeel to get hit by the different smells, Lucy was there, it smelled like she was making some sort of tea, and the third smell was something he recognized immediately "Fuck".
"Coming!" Lucy rushed to open the door and smiled widely when realizing who had stopped by for a visit "Levy! Come in, do you want to have some tea?"
"Hi Lu! Yeah that would be nice" Levy walked inside when he noticed the muddy mess on the floor "Lu w-what happened to the house?"
Lucy rolled her eyes "Natsu decided to do some remodeling" Levy stared at the footprints "Gajeel too by the looks of it" Lucy stared at the floor and shrug "My house was victim to a Dragon Slayer earthquake" both mages giggled and moved to the kitchen.
"Should we worry? I mean they only know how to fight each other and it's kind of late" the script mage laughed "Well they can say they hate their guts all they want, but I know Gajeel is going to ask him, Gray and Lily to be his groomsman"
"Oh! Which reminds me… who are going to be your bridesmaids?" Levy rolled her eyes at her "Are you serious? You already know you are my maid of honor silly!"
"Okay just making sure!" Lucy stuck her tongue out and they both laughed loudly "Lushy! Can I get my fish from the fridge?" She smiled and nodded "Only a little one, wouldn't like you to lose your appetite"
"Aw LU! You are so ready for motherhood!" every single drop of blood in Lucy's body went up to her face "W-why…W-what?!" Levy laughed so hard that her hands went to her stomach and she bend her body in half "I'm just joking, it is too easy to tease you"
Lucy pinched Levy's cheek just as Aquarius used to do to her "I'll make the tea, why don't you put your stuff away?" the celestial mage made her way into the kitchen, Levy simply nodded and walked to the main hall to hang her purse while she rubbed her abused cheek.
It happened too fast for either Levy or Lucy to react; the door was punched so hard that it broke causing small wooden shards to fly into the house. Levy's immediate reaction was to cover her face to avoid getting splinters in her eyes, she heard Lucy scream her name in the middle of the chaos and heard her footsteps getting closer. She pulled her face up but as soon as she did, she was pinned to the wall by Natsu himself.
"N-Natsu?" He wasn't listening to her, she though it seemed as if he couldn't even see her. His eyes were narrowed in confusion and she could clearly see small amber traits on them now that he had been breathing right on her face, he sniffed a couple of times and scrunched his nose.
"Natsu! What are you doing?!" Lucy yelled and started moving towards him when Gajeel came through the door. The Dragon slayers' eyes met before Gajeel punched him causing him to release Levy; he hugged his mate before turning back to see his friend kneeling on the ground holding Levy's purse.
"I'm going to kill you Salamander!" he meant it, he really did but before he moved Levy grabbed his arm to stop him "Tsk… Shrimp…"
Levy simply stared at Natsu, he was fondling with the brooch and once he got it open, he flipped the purse to get everything out; he stared at its contents with a baffled expression and pressed his hand on his forehead. He was breathing rapidly; he stretched his hands to reach out for something and his friends noticed him shaking; Gajeel did another attempt to get closer, this time without the intention to hurt him. He took a small step when he noticed what Natsu was reaching for.
"Salamander…" Natsu's shaking hands grabbed the book Levy had been carrying, he was staring at it with confusion written in his eyes and hesitantly got it closer to his face to smell its cover; he closed his eyes and took a whiff before slamming the book to the opposite side of the wall and pushing himself backwards. He pressed the back of his hand against his mouth and nose and stared at the offensive object on the ground.
No one knew what was happening, or how to react to it and by the time they tried to get closer again Natsu had rushed to the bathroom to throw the contents of his stomach in the toilet.
"Should we go check on him?" Levy was concerned, sure he had scared her, but he was still her friend, Gajeel put an arm around her and shook his head "Not a chance, not until we know what the fuck happened" the tree of them walked to the living room along with Happy and sat down quietly waiting for him to return.
It took more than half an hour, but eventually Natsu came out of the hall and rested his side on the frame; he wouldn't look at them, or the book that still laid on the floor.
"Are you not going to say a thing?" Gajeel almost growled while Levy placed a hand on his leg "What is that… and why do you have it"
"How about you apologize to Levy first moron?" Natsu stared at him, the look he gave was filled with anger, but it was a different type of the one they've seen before, it had regret and disappointment, fear even "No, not until you tell me what that is, why is it here and where you got it from"
Lucy stood up and walked towards him, she grabbed his hand and pressed his knuckles against her plump lips "It's a book I took… from Fukuro's house" Natsu stiffen at the mention of his name "Why would you want to keep anything that is his?" he couldn't help it, his nature was possessive and the last thing he needed was a reminder of a man that was dead by his hand and that almost took everything from him.
"It seems to be about Dragons, so I thought maybe…"
"You thought maybe… you would bring it home and not tell me about it" Levy stared at him with an annoyed expression "Hey they didn't tell me about it either and I got over it! She was trying to help"
"They?" He looked up at Gajeel and scrunched his nose "You knew? Are you kidding me? After what… I did… you didn't think there would be something wrong with it?"
"Oi, it's just a fucking book you little shit!"
"It… It smells like…" Gajeel interrupted him and took a couple of steps his way "Yeah, it smells like Dragon skin, you know the smell well, which still gives you NO excuse to threaten my girl"
He crossed his arms and pressed his fingers on his skin with a bruising strength "I didn't mean to Levy, it's just that…"
"You don't have to tell them little brother… they shouldn't have brought that into your house" Natsu clenched his fists "You should burn it, that way that smell will never find you again" he rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath before hitting the back of his head against the wall and pointed at the book "That… is not any Dragon smell… I know that smell, I just didn't remember"
Lucy saw the images flashing before her eyes and her heart immediately ached for him; the scene of his parents trying to save him and his brother from a horrible fate, blood splattered on his face while he tried his best to wipe it with his small hands, his parents bodies laying on the floor while he tried to protect his older brother and the Dragon's last attack; she felt a sharp pain on her neck where Natsu had the scar and felt what he felt when the ceiling started falling over him, when Zeref pulled him out and cried at the sight of his younger brother fading away.
"Well numb nuts, which Dragon is it?" Gajeel was losing his patience but before Natsu could respond Lucy was already reaching out to him and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him into a hug "You are ok… I've got you, it's ok…"
Natsu pulled away, that sentence brought him too much pain "It's not…"
"Can someone please fill in the blanks here?" Natsu took a deep breath and turned to his friend "That… smells like the dragon that killed my parents… and me… technically" the room went silent for a couple of minutes before Levy walked towards him and grabbed his hand "I'm sorry… we didn't know"
"It's not your fault… I am sorry for how I… you know" he turned to Gajeel and noticed he simply nodded, letting him know he accepted his apology "I'll get rid of it right now Natsu, don't worry" before Levy could move, he pulled her hand "Don't… I want to know what it says"
"Why?" he gave a tired smile that didn't reach his eyes "Well… someone killed it and made a book with his skin… and it sure as hell wasn't me"
"Do you think Zeref got to him?" he was surprised when his brother's name left her mouth without an inch of disgust, he turned to the image of his brother who shook his head "I never found him, I would have done worse"
"I don't think he did, but I can't be sure" they all knew what he meant, they knew now that he'd been listening to his death brother for some time, however no one could tell if it was part of his imagination or if the Dark wizard had found a way to remain hidden from the world.
"Nothing good will come out of that book little brother, you need to burn it down" he shook his head trying to keep his focus but Zeref would stay quiet.
"Get rid of it"
"Burn it"
"Destroy it"
"Come on brother, you'll feel so much better after"
Natsu slammed his head on the wall harder this time "Stop it!" he slid from the wall and sat himself on the floor when he felt someone sitting next to him, he was surprised that Gajeel would do something like that and so he didn't comment on it.
"Tell the motherfucking invisible dead twit that you are done listening to his bullshit, and that your…" he cleared his throat and looked away "friends… got you"
Lucy sat down to the other side of Natsu along with Happy and rested her chin on his shoulder before grabbing his hand, while Levy simply sat in between Gajeel's legs and rested her arm on Natsu's leg.
Natsu sniffed a bit and looked straight at his brother trying to hold his tears, he was dead, he knew this, this thing standing in front of him couldn't be him and even if it was… he wasn't the brother he remembered, that man had died along with him four centuries ago.
"Natsu… don't listen to them, I only want what's best for you, I always have"
He bit his lip and took a deep breath "You heard the man… brother… you need to go"
"They are just trying to pull us apart little brother, don't listen to them"
"I want you to go… now" it took a couple more seconds, but the image started to get blurry until his brother was not there anymore. He turned and kissed Lucy's head before elbowing Gajeel's ribs "Didn't you say we weren't friends? You are getting soft"
"Tsk… Fucking punk… I'm not the one sniffing and tearing" after a couple awkward minutes Natsu cleared his throat "Ok…so… drinks anyone?" Gajeel simply nodded and got up picking Levy up with him.
Aporia kept rubbing circles on her temples while mumbling to herself, Nephele stood next to her while Helle sat on the floor with a childish pout.
"So, what now aunty?" Nephele knelt and grabbed Aporia's hand "Ria… we need to come up with something fast, he won't come to us if they remain by his side"
"One would think they would have gotten tired of all the craziness already… who are these people?" Helle rested her head on her knees "His family…" she sniffed while a few tears fell on the floor "family takes care of family aunty… we should know that better than anyone"
Aporia sighed, she brushed Helle's pink-gray hair "Their bond runs deep, we'll need to figure something out to bring him in"
"Can't we just simply tell him the truth? If we tell him he can bring that… girl, and his friends with him, maybe he'll say yes" Aporia smiled and grabbed the nymph's chin between her thumb and index "If only it was that easy dearie"
"It seems simple" Her eyes were filled with tears and Aporia couldn't blame her, she hated herself for doing this to him, he didn't deserve it, but after her long wait there was no way she was going to back down now; she had sacrificed too much, done too much wrong in order to avenge her family.
Nephele sat on the floor next to her daughter and held her hands "Well… when he comes to us there are many things that will need to happen; that Celestial mage keeps him grounded, she's light when he faces dark and if she comes with him… he won't be able to do what he needs to do baby, she won't let him"
"It sounds like she makes him stronger" Nephele nodded "She does… but not only is she his weakness, we also need for his darkness to be even darker than the one he will fight, her light makes him too forgiving"
Aporia simply sat looking at the ceiling, trying to figure out what her next move would be "So… I won't be able to use the image of his brother anymore, and I don't think he has someone else that we could use…"
"How about his Dragon?" she shook her head, "that would take too much energy to create and maintain, and Natsu would probably end up figuring out that he isn't real, he may not pay a lot of attention to details, but he knew his Dragon too well" she took a deep breath and rubbed her face "I think Helle is going to get her do over after all… It's time for a little honesty"
Both nymphs stared at each other before looking back at their leader "But aunty! If I mess up again…"
"Then simply don't mess up child"
It had been a weird day, after Natsu almost attacked Levy the group had resorted to drinking and chatting and although there was a certain awkwardness between both Dragon Slayers now, they enjoyed listening to their mates talk and giggle.
The girls' rosy cheeks were a clear sign of their state which made the boys flinch, they've had to handle them in that state a couple of times and it had proven time and time again to be an awful task. Levy jumped Gajeel and wrapped her arms around his neck before resting her body princess style.
"Gajeel! Your hair is so soft!" she grabbed a handful of his hair and nuzzled it; he simply sighed. Lucy grabbed Natsu and carelessly pulled his head to her breasts "Natsu's hair is super soft too! And so pink"
"OI! We've been over this! It is SALMON, salmon! Not pink!" she giggled and brushed his hair "Ok, ok, whatever you say "You are such a weirdo Luce…"
Gajeel grunted from his place "Says the one with the pink hair and the sharp teeth" Natsu pulled himself off before pointing a finger at him "Your teeth are also sharp nuts and bolts!" they were about to start fighting when Happy's sleepy voice echoed from the other couch "Oh could you just agree you like each other! And could you shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep!"
Both slayers looked at Happy raising a twitching eyebrow "I DO NOT LIKE METAL IDIOT! Seriously what's is wrong with you Happy!" the blue exceed fell back on the couch and placed a paw above his eyes "Yes you do… and you like Gray too! And I was right all those times when I said you loved Lucy!"
Levy sat up on Gajeel's lap "Yes! They do! So much Gajeel wanted them to be his groomsman!" The Iron slayer's face went red while he pressed a hand of Levy's mouth "Oi Shrimp! Shut it!"
"Awwww that's super cute!" Lucy had placed a hand on each side of her face when Natsu covered her mouth too "Geez Luce! I think it's bedtime for you"
"For both of them!" Gajeel picked Levy up and dropped her on his shoulder while she pouted. He cleared his throat and turned to look at Natsu who was avoiding his stare "So… we'll see you around" Natsu got up to follow them to the door but held it open once Gajeel and Levy were outside.
"Just for the record… It wouldn't kill me to do that… as a favor to your sorry ass that is" Gajeel grunted "Fucking punk… I hate your guts"
"Right back at you numbnuts"
"You are going to need a suit, I don't want you showing up on your regular stupid clothes"
"And here I though you would get married with your black coat and combat boots… geez Gajeel…" they shared a smirk before Gajeel turned on his heel and carried Levy back to his house. Natsu closed the door and went back to the couch where Lucy was already sleeping.
He picked her up princess style and placed Happy on her belly before carrying both to the bedroom and laying them on bed. He brushed the hair of her face and stared at her just wondering how had he become so lucky.
Still, he wondered… the problem that had been in his mind for some time now was getting closer every day and there was no way around it, he couldn't help but remember the big office with the stain glass window.
"As the leader of the council they will follow my lead, I told them I wanted to give you an option… I know this will only lead to more destruction on your behalf and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"You can't even imagine… destruction is a term you know nothing about"
"If you take that path, there's nothing we can do about it. Please keep in mind that even if you get rid of the council the name Fairy Tail would be tainted in blood, there wouldn't be a place for anyone to go back to"
Natsu felt a sharp pain on his chest; Fairy Tail was home not only for him, but to all of them "What do you want?"
"I want to cut a deal with you… but before we proceed, I need your promise that this information won't leave the premises; what's it going to be Mr. Dragneel?"
Natsu walked to the chair and sat down before nodding to Shiro "I'm listening"
"Very well" Shiro straightened himself and rested his elbows on the table "There's a group of people that have tried to reach out to you before, they claim to be your brother's remaining followers"
"There are many groups like that…" Shiro smiled to himself "Indeed they are… The one that I speak off will surely try to reach you again as soon as they realize you are under the council's thumb"
"I don't want this to be of public record, it will damage the guild" The councilman waved his hand dismissing his comment "It won't, leave it to me for them to find out"
"Ok, so… what do you want with them?"
"To destroy them… and all their kind…" Natsu laughed and shook his head "Good, tell me where they are, and I'll pay them a visit"
"That's not how this works child… you will go with them willingly, they will make you their beloved leader and all of the rest of those who adored your monstrous brother will follow and then we will take the opportunity to destroy them"
"Ok, so how long do you think that will take? I know my team and they won't rest until they find me and bring me home" Shiro gave him a look, one that meant he wasn't quite done "We will have to give them a reason not to follow you then"
Natsu was not comfortable with it, and he wasn't sure there was something he could do to stop his friends from following him, after all, Fairy tail had proven time and time again that they would never leave family behind "Still… how long before I can go home…"
"Oh child… Once they crown you, they will become a part of you, a dark blood bond will be in place… you can kill one or two subordinates to prove yourself, but as soon as you finish them all… your own magic will consume you"
Natsu widen his eyes and stared back at the councilman with shock, he had been ready to give everything up, and just now he had let a small amount of hope to permeate through his pain before darkness and reality killed it.
"So… if I do this, I will die"
"But they wouldn't, they would receive full protection… permanently, pardons of course, Makarov would stay in place and your beautiful home would remain a home for everyone who has no place in the world… like you claim it to be now"
"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" Shiro took a deep breath and Natsu could see something similar to pity in them "You should want to do this… I know there's much you don't remember, but this people… they are responsible for every single bad thing that has happened to your family"
"I highly doubt that… everyone is responsible for their own actions old man"
"They are… and their actions were what caused your family's decay… including your death. I have a file on that… would you like to see it?" Shiro opened his drawer and got an old brown thick folder and dropped it on his desk before staring back at Natsu.
He consider it, the fire dragon slayer was curious by nature, but he had decided long ago that the life he didn't remember wasn't his… his life was the one he build with Igneel, the one with his family back in he guild and he didn't need to know the details of a story that for him was way before his time.
"I'll pass…"
Back in that moment, Natsu had accepted of course, he would have done anything to protect his family mostly after knowing they faced backlash for something he had done. He had never been burnt by fire but knowing that his own power… the one he had been nourishing and increasing would burn him to death, knowing that would be the one and only time he would feel the fire burn his skin… didn't scare him.
That was back then, back when he had made his resolve to stay away from Lucy, back when he had decided to put some distance between him and his friends to maybe, just maybe reduce the heartbreak a bit… back when him dying didn't mean Lucy would succumb to death because his heart wasn't beating.
He couldn't do it, he wouldn't be able to let her die; would she feel him burning himself to ashes? Will she feel the pain of his skin sizzling and melting off his bones? No… she wouldn't because he wouldn't let it happen. Natsu didn't know how, but he had to find a way to spare her from that fate.
He did his usual routine, went to the kitchen and pinched his nose before picking that awful gooey liquid and did his best to pass it without tasting it; he had some water to wash the taste away and went back to bed where he cradled Lucy while brushing her golden hair with her fingers, she felt so warm that he could feel himself melting in her love.
Sleeping was automatic for him, like every night he closed his eyes and saw nothing but emptiness; then it seemed after five minutes he was forced to face morning. He hated it, for someone who loved sleeping so much being forced to face empty space behind his eyelids like one of those creepy dolls that would automatically close their fake plastic eyes when laying down and opening them once you sat them up… it was horrible; but then again… it was still better than the nightmares that had stalked his dreams ever since he met Fukuro, because even after his dead, what he had seen couldn't stop haunting him,
He sat up and knelt on bed before showering Lucy with kisses "Luce" kiss, "Luce" kiss, "Lusheee" kiss kiss kiss "Geez! I'm awake! WHYYYY AM I AWAKE!"
Natsu pouted "Because you are going training again today and I wanted to spend some time with you" she all but growled before he started kissing her again and tickling her sides "Fine! Fine!" she smiled and pulled him for another kiss "Breakfast it is then!"
They made blueberry pancakes and tea and woke Happy up for breakfast, the blue cat rubbed his belly and sighed "Woaah that was good, your cooking is getting better Lushy!"
"My cooking has always been great!" the cat snickered "Sure, probably that's why you gained so much weight!"
"I DID NOT GAIN WEIGHT, STUPID CAT!"
"Naaaatsuuuu! Lucy wants to have cat for dessert! Help me!" Happy flew and hid behind Natsu who simply laughed at his antics "Now Happy, that's no way to thank Lucy for breakfast is it?" Happy rolled his eyes "Thank you Lushy!"
"That's much better"
He walked with them to the point where he would part with them, anything beyond that and he might start recognizing scents from his friends ruining the secrecy of the trainings. Natsu kissed Lucy while Happy snickered, even after seeing them several times the blue exceed would still tease them for their closeness.
Natsu went back home and continued with the task of rebuilding the house, he had started working on the stairs to what would be the second floor, and the structure from above by reinforcing the ceiling itself first and we was hoping to at least finish the outer shell by the end of the day; as it turns out, being someone like him being forced to doing nothing was incentive enough to find something to do.
Just as he had planned, he finished the access to the second story and after adapting some of his initial plan after remembering he hadn't plan for windows the structure and shell of the second floor were mostly completed, of course rooms and separations had to be added along with doors and windows.
He had decided to take a break when he smelled rain coming; he secured the holes where the windows would be with some plastic and went downstairs to the kitchen to make himself something to eat.
"OK… so there's some spicy chicken left… some pasta… sounds like a plan" he made as many sandwiches as his plate could hold and made some tea before sitting back on the table; small water drops fell on the house walls and he knew it has been a good idea to secure the windows.
He was wrapped up in his thoughts when a familiar sound made its way to his sensitive ears…
I lost my way and walked alone, into a path where nothing grew,
I was so scared to never find, the light to guide me by your side,
The dark clouds and thunder ripped through the sky,
Light and dark bringing shadow shape images alive.
He knew the voice, there was no chance of confusing her with someone else. Natsu stood up and left his house to run towards the last place he had seen her. The rain hit his face, but he didn't care, he had to get a plan "B" maybe even a "C" and he wasn't sure if he would get the opportunity back.
I should have known you'd find me there, to hold my hand and make me safe,
You are my home, my friend my life, the one to always bring back my smile,
No matter what darkness covers the way, together we will always push it away,
No matter what darkness covers the way, we'll light the path and make our way,
The voice started getting lower and lower until it was just a whisper and he tried to run even faster now, desperation setting in sending more energy towards his limbs and letting him take advantage of his speed. He hadn't been able to tap into the speed he had used the day before on his own accord, it had always been something instinctive.
When he got to the lake, he was relieved to see she was not only there but sitting on the place where he had been found before, the tree was gone but, in its place, sat a sad looking water spirit. She looked into his eyes while singing the last verse of the song.
Hand in hand we created the light, to defeat the evil that kept us apart,
We walked together creating the path, a trail that would always lead us back,
Because no matter if we are ever alone, when or where we have to go,
We'll walk the trail we made long ago, the one that will always lead us back home
"Hey…" she barely smiled while she hid her face on her knees "Hey to you too"
"Did… did I hurt you?" she stared at her with disbelief and frowned "What are you talking about?!" he sat next to her and bit the inside of his cheek "You know last time… I don't remember much, did I hurt you?"
Helle grabbed both his hands and took them to her lips "Of course not! I've been so worried… it was all my fault I'm so sorry Natsu!" he simply smiled and shook his head "So… what brings you here?"
"You of course silly, I wanted to see you"
"Why?" she laughed at his face "What do you mean why! You are the single most important person for me! Why would I not want to see you?"
"You don't even know me" she smiled at him "I may not know you but… I know everything there is to know about you. I know you love with all your heart and you hide your pain deep inside… I know your memories are making you confused, and that they hurt every single time… I know you wished you knew your parents' names"
Natsu clenched his fists and looked away, when talking to Shiro he hadn't cared about the fact these people were responsible for his parents' death, but now that his memories were resurfacing, he couldn't help but feel anger rising in the pit of his stomach "Well… I wished they hadn't died" he said it with a bit too much venom in his tongue and Helle noticed.
"None of us did Natsu…" he chuckled painfully "Oh really?... How did they die then?"
"I…d-don't want to talk about it" he stood up and combed his hair "Well though luck kid! You can't expect for me to trust you if you're not willing to tell me stuff"
"You can trust me! I love you!" he turned around and gave her a hateful look "Love? You Love me? People like you are not capable of love! You take away everything!"
"Natsu please!" tears streamed down from her face and along with it the sky rumbled "Prove it to me! Prove that this… love you claim is real then"
"I can't talk about your parents… not yet" he huffed and paced like a caged lion before turning back to face her "Fine… then give me a way out" she looked at him and tilted her head, he couldn't help but notice how much her eyes resembled someone he knew but he disregarded the though quickly.
"I… am going to die Helle" she widen her eyes and opened her mouth to speak but he raised his hand to stop her "I am and I have made my peace with it… one way or the other I'm going to die whether is because your people want me to follow you to then kill me… or because of my past stupidity…"
"I won't let you die…"
"Too many people have made the same promise and I don't believe they will be able to keep it, but if you give me a way to save her… I promise I'll blindly believe anything you want me to"
"Your mate..." she scrunched her nose and he moved his hands frantically "YES, my mate… whom else would I want to spare from my death?"
She took a deep breath and hoped she was making the right choice. She reached out to her pocket and took out a beautiful red stone, the same one her mother had used and that she kept as a reminder that even wishes made with the best intentions could backfire; the stone was now attached to a golden chain and base that held the stone in the middle.
"This…" She bit her lip before handing it to him "You can't use it lightly"
"What is it?" he took it from her and inspected it, it was warm, and it felt alive "This is the ruby of Mars, it will help you save her, but the cost will be too great. If you use it, the ruby will take payment with something precious to you"
"But Lucy is precious to me, I can't risk it taking her"
"Taking has many meanings Natsu, she may not die but you may never see her again. If you use it, wish for it to take your mortal soul that way if something happens to either of you, the other won't die"
"What would happen to me if I have no soul?" she shook her head "I hope we don't get to find out"
Natsu squeezed the stone in his hand and sighed before placing it inside his pocket "Ok… so what now?" she shrugged her shoulders and sighed "Now you tell me why you think you are going to die"
"I… made a deal with the council… if I do it, I'll die, and if I don't, I'm sure I will too"
"Ah... I see… what is Shiro after now? Power, money, or just regular bloodshed as usual?" Natsu stared at her dumbfounded, not only did she know who he was, but she also knew what he was after "All of them I guess"
"Well that's a pretty good guess, he's been trying to lore us out for cen-tu-ries! You have no idea" she caught herself and closed her mouth quickly hoping he wouldn't notice, however by the look on his face he could tell her luck had run out.
"C-centuries? I mean sure the guy is oldish but centuries?"
"Dammit… ok, so… he is actually older than you" Natsu nodded as if that was obvious "No, no, I mean… he was born before you were"
"What the hell!?" she nodded "Yeah! I never met him in person, I died before he was born" she flinched again and scratched her head.
"Wait a minute! Y-you are older than him? WAIT A MINUTE! You are dead!?" she started fidgeting with her hands as she noticed a dark cloud from the corner of her eye, she knew she had said too much, and it was time to have a graceful departure before of ruining things even more.
"Yes, and No… I died, I am not dead anymore as I told you I'm a water spirit"
"Woah, I have so many questions right now"
"And those will have to wait because I have to go home! Curfew" she scratched the back of her head and stuck her tongue out "You are like… more than 400 years old EASILY… why do you have curfew?"
"House rules, can't break them! So… Bye!"
"Wait! What if I need you? Would… would you help me save everyone if I need you?"
"If we do… would you come with us?" he stared at her before nodding "Without a doubt" she smiled and took a few steps into the lake "Then we will be there when you call upon us my prince" she raised her arms to the sky and just as the water drops touched her body, she bonded with them and disintegrated into nothing.
His eye twitched before he let himself fall on the ground "Well… I am not sure what to do with all of this right now…" he finally stood up and walked towards his house, the rain was still falling hard. He was half way there when he heard Lucy yell loudly, panic… that's what he felt, but that panic had a pinch of anger, anger that he didn't recognize, it felt as if it wasn't his. He ran again, it seemed that now that's all he did… run.
He entered the house and stopped in the hall at the sight in front of him. There she was, his adorable, sweet mate, the love of his life, the kindest soul he had ever met; Lucy was pinning someone's front to the ground, a very naked someone; she held both wrists with one hand to the woman's back while her other hand held her by the hair.
Lucy looked tired, she was covered in dirt and a bit of blood from training, but her eyes screamed fire and her mouth screamed even louder.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Merryl squirmed trying to get lose from Lucy's angry grip but failed "Get off me, you…mad cow!"
"Did you just call me a cow?! I'm going to nail your ass to the floor!"
"Let go of me!" this time she managed to pull herself from Lucy's grip and smacked the side of her face, immediately after that Natsu grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall.
"Why are you in my house?" he was calm, but his unforgiving look gave Merryl the chills "I wanted to surprise you…"
"Of course, you did! You were naked on our bed you… stupid basket case! Natsu! We are burning the sheets and pillows! We don't know where THAT has been!"
Natsu helped Lucy stand up and brushed his fingers on her now red cheek before turning back to Merryl, he walked towards her and grabbed her by the neck pushing her further into the wall "Don't make me break my promise Merryl"
"Oh, baby you would never, you've kept all of them so far" Natsu tighten his grip on her neck and he heard her gasp for air, he smelled her fear and heard her heartbeat "If you ever… lay a hand on my mate again… I will tear the flesh of your bones and when I get bored of watching you scream, I'll pull your heart out with my bare hands"
Merryl tried to gulp but Natsu's hand made it impossible "Nod if you understand" she looked at him but didn't react and he was getting frustrated "Natsu let her go" Lucy was surprised by his coldness; her words went unnoticed to him.
"I'm going to make myself clear Merr… I do not want you, I do not love you, I am never going to want to touch you, you represent one of the most painful and horrible experiences I've lived through and if I don't ever see you again I will consider myself lucky… so, if I ever so much as smell you close to my mate, or her house I will take you down in the worse possible way"
Merryl started crying, her tears running down her face and Lucy could tell her heart had broken, she was brought back from her thoughts when he heard Natsu's unsettling growl "NOD MERRYL" she redheaded nodded frantically before Natsu let her fall to the ground.
She started coughing while still kneeling on the floor; Natsu went to his room and got the clothes that were laying on the floor, he knew those were hers because of her smell. She simply walked towards her and threw them on the floor.
"Get dressed and get out" she complied and as soon as she was out of sight, he turned towards Lucy, his eyes back to his usual self, filled with love and devotion for her.
"That was scary…" he huffed "Of course… not every day you get a psycho stalker breaking into your house" Lucy pushed him away and stared at him in disbelief "No, I meant you… you were scary. What was that about"
He frowned and folded his arms above his chest "Ok, I overdid it… but Luce, I can't help it" he actually looked confused himself and so, she sighed and held his hand "You are like a dragon protecting his hoard" he chuckled and pulled her in for a hug "No, I'm like a dragon protecting a treasure, the most important treasure… no matter what happens Luce, I'll always make sure you are safe"
